User Online

Visitors

My journey so far.. with pictures*

“Cracking” Sentul Circuit… Part 1

12 intimidating turn, 900m+ of long home-straight, cement patches, mix asphalt, but pure 100% rush! That is Sentul Circuit. Lap time for GP500cc around 1:23, WSBK 1:26 back in the 90’s. Current FIM Asian race clocking 1:32 and National SBK/SS in in 1:34. Yours trully in 1:47 with my CBR600RR .. ha!

Let see how I approach Sentul’s track, and as in the lap time above I am no racer and I am not planning to be one, so do read the following with that in mind.

My ride for this writing is not my CBR, but it was a human power bike! Yes, I got a chance to ride a bike around Sentul circuit and what a better way to observe the track then strolling down on it with bike?

Let start with the first turn R1 (or Radius 1, if you wonder what the “R” stands for).

R1 is about 90deg right hand turn. Since you come from 900mm long straight and achieve top speed before R1, this turn is certainly bit intimidating. It’s vast gravel trap is not helping either. Trust me R1 is where you will first felt “fear” doing track day in Sentul.

Using SuperSport bike my braking marker is bit before the 200m mark. When the 200m sign disappear from my sight I have already hard on the brake while down shifting from 6 to 4 gear. The 100m sign is where I downshift again to 3rd and just before a white line across the track (you can not see it on the above pic) is my flipping point.

Safely exiting R1, with your knee dragged off course, is R2.

R2 is positive chamber very-very fast left hand turn. This turn separate the man from the boys. The concrete wall on the right just look very near when you doing 170kph. But you need to keep on the gas all the way on R2 if you plan to clock bellow 1:40. It was the most intimidating turn for me in Sentul Circuit.

There are several way doing R2, mine is to keep on 3rd and after service car entry road on the right I flip my bike to the left. Maintain throttle and keep it on 13K – 14K RPM on exit.

R2 also a good overtaking spot if you overtook some one much slower then you since they will certainly run quite wide exiting the turn.